Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 8:10:54 GMT
Well I've changed 'em back, got 42 squids for 50 Euros at a BdC in Reading. Hey ho. If I hung on to them then wife would put them somewhere "safe" and they'd never be seen again, or forgotten about entirely. Might as well spend the money in the Fox'n'Hounds.
Changed the spark plugs on the Mazda last night, utter piece of cake. Was done in 10 mins. But. There's always a but with me. I bought the new plugs from CP4L using their number plate matching thang. When the old ones came out (quite black and a small mount of white ash indicative of the bit of oil it burns I expect), they were a bit longer in the thread than the new ones. Old were NGK IR, new are Bosch Double Platinum. Anyway, I fitted the new and test drove - it seems to be driving fine. Any reason why I should be concerned about the difference in size? NGK IRs were also shown on the website as an option, but at £15 each rather than £7 for the Bosch, I went Bosch. Might be trading the car in soon against a Leaf anyway (test drive coming up on Friday).
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 9:23:07 GMT
Merc garage called, punctured air spring, part is £350+vat plus 2 hours at £65 ph, plus vat of course. Why don't they just give private customers the price inc. VAT like everyone else? Always annoyed me, that. Near enough £600. Sigh. And it's not even the side I thought was going to go pop. I expect I'll receive the car back with it's original lean to starboard.
Question is, what makes such a part which is only about two years old and max 20k miles go pop? Garage geezer reckons just "bad luck" and stone damage or somesuch.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Jul 25, 2017 10:08:42 GMT
How do you get to two years old on an 11 (? - I forget) year-old car?
Ours is eight (actually nine from the build date) years old and has never given a hint of trouble. (Tempting fate three days before we set off on its annual long trip.) Can't see how a stone could get in there at any speed - or at all.
Forgive my memory but have you had the airbag(s) replaced before? If so, what had happened to the original(s)? Mishap, or neglect? And could the replacement have been installed incorrectly?
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Post by Hofmeister on Jul 25, 2017 10:36:37 GMT
Merc garage called, punctured air spring, part is £350+vat plus 2 hours at £65 ph, plus vat of course. Why don't they just give private customers the price inc. VAT like everyone else? Always annoyed me, that. Near enough £600. Sigh. And it's not even the side I thought was going to go pop. I expect I'll receive the car back with it's original lean to starboard. Question is, what makes such a part which is only about two years old and max 20k miles go pop? Garage geezer reckons just "bad luck" and stone damage or somesuch. £65 +Vat labour? for a Merc dealer? sounds pretty reasonable
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Jul 25, 2017 10:45:12 GMT
Pay attention, Sven! He said it was an MB-specialist independent. Take it from me that the main dealer labour rate in Reading is rather more than that; would have added £500 to the price I paid for new brake bits on mine.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 11:40:04 GMT
WDB, when I purchased the car in May 2016, its first inspection at a Merc independent revealed that the suspension on the nearside had all been recently replaced. This is what may have been causing the original lean to the offside, well that as my assumption that the older stuff over there was probably "baggier", but still perfectly serviceable. Then I noticed some minor scrapes on the lowest part of the nearside sills, and concluded it had been in a ditch or something. Thus the components on the nearside are all, at worst, 2 years old. I expect the previous owner had an "off", repaired it and traded it in. Or traded it in damaged and someone else repaired it before retailing. It is not a Cat C or D car though.
Aside: apologies for apostrophe abuse in earlier post. Fingers race ahead of slowing mind sometimes.
Yes, it's at a Merc Indie specialist, Calcot Cars. The labour rate is not unreasonable, I'm just tutting at having to fork out money I haven't got. Poor timing too, after holiday expenses. Oh well, not like I'm not used to it.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 11:42:34 GMT
If the indy is good and that cheap, maybe worth my while driving down to Reading to have mine serviced. Must find a client who needs a building inspecting.....
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 11:59:33 GMT
I'm impressed with their service so far EIII, jolly good show to provide a courtesy car to an unknown punter who drops in on spec. My friend/neighbour who recommended them isn't daft, he's an architect and a jolly sensible chap. Their workshop is in a crappy part of town right next to the west coast mainline, but who needs glass palaces, right? Good service and value is what we're after. These chaps update the Mercedes official DSB (Digital Service Book) when they service a car, so that's a bonus if you've got a decent motor like yours, EIII, rather than a lemon flavoured disaster on its way to meet its maker like mine. www.calcotcars.co.uk/
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 14:28:11 GMT
It's back. The wonk is gone. No lean either way. Houston, we are level.
£522, I misheard the part price (305+vat).
Happy to recommend the place, based on first visit. They had a 190 Cosworth up on a lift having something done to it. Drool. Even my 9 year old daughter spotted the massive exhaust, realised it wasn't normal, and wondered why. Attagirl.
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Post by tyrednexited on Jul 25, 2017 14:37:56 GMT
£522, I misheard the part price (305+vat). ...sounds like a result. A bit less and you could have paid for it with your Euros......
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 15:07:17 GMT
Ears (that's how we pronounce "Yes" in the proper parts of Berkshire, you may recall).
Either way, I'm mind to avoid the purchase of airsprung vee-hickles in the future. Stick it on the list with cambelts. Won't be many SAAB 9-5 2.2 TiD auto estates about when I need to change though, wish I'd kept the old one...........
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 15:13:25 GMT
>wish I'd kept the old one...........
Bloody told you.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Jul 25, 2017 15:37:09 GMT
So if the lean has gone, does that suggest the side that's just gone was too high and thus showing a lean?
Could have been dearer I suppose - but nobody like unexpected bills.
Our dishwasher was playing up and I wasn't too keen on forking out on the new one. At least the bonus we had covered it with money left over.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 15:53:40 GMT
>wish I'd kept the old one........... Bloody told you. That you did. That you did. But I do wonder what problems it would have given me itself in the last year and a quarter, let alone the allegedly EGR-related check engine light which I chased and gave up on (yes, short of a brand new EGR valve, but given that we tried fitting known good ones and it still didn't fix it, that was when I decided to stop throwing money at it and start throwing money in a different direction.............).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 15:56:32 GMT
So if the lean has gone, does that suggest the side that's just gone was too high and thus showing a lean?
Yes, I suppose that must be the conclusion. Perhaps, just perhaps, when the nearside sus was all replaced, they dusted off and refitted the existing rear airspring, and it's lasted this long before giving up.
Who knows.
All I do know is that I await the next large bill.
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